My 8 E-books written over the years by Alina Udrea - HTML preview

CHAPTER 2

A few minutes later, a middle- aged woman also appeared in the

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doorway, behind Kevin. She seemed a severe, strict woman. The wrinkles around her mouth gave her a menacing look. Nothing about her appearance seemed to betray any kindness. She was wearing old shabby clothes. Some patches had been sewn to match her long skirt and to hide the holes in it due to having been worn for too long. “And how is the little miss this morning?” she asked with a fake smile, trying to hide the fact that she wasn’t in the mood to care for another person. Sam immediately realized that this must be Carla, the servant. “I’m fine… Do you know where I could find some work? And a cheap place to stay?” Sam asked hoping Clara could give her a hint. Clara, on the other hand, glad that the young lady intended to leave, hurried to make a suggestion and get rid of her.

“Well” Clara began, “there’s a small tavern a bit further down this street. I heard the owner needed a waitress. Maybe he would also let you sleep upstairs in one his rooms. You could go and see…” Carla finally said hoping that settled it.

“Nonsense!” Another voice coming from just outside the room was heard. “How about you work for me and you can have this room!?” Said the mistress of the house, Kevin's mom. She was a tall slender woman and by the expression of her face Sam could see that she was a kind woman. A little sad maybe, but kind and gentle. Sam didn’t know what to say or what to make of her unexpected offer. Was this really happening? By the look on Kevin's face, he hadn’t been aware oh his mother's plans, either. And neither had been Carla. But while Sam could read a sort of wonder mixed with delight (although she didn’t know why) in Kevin's eyes, she could also see fear and resent in Carla's. (And again she didn’t know why but she could make a wild guess.) “My name is Eleanor” said the mistress of the house. “And if you'd like, you could work for me. Keep the house clean.” She went on with a faint smile and a furtive glance at Carla.

“But I thought that was my job, my lady. Or are you firing me?” she asked in a trembling voice. The hatred in her eyes towards Sam was more than obvious now.

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“No, Carla, dear, but you are getting old and let's face it, you are not what you used to be. Your eyes are not as good anymore as you keep missing spots on the cutlery and to tell you the truth I had to wipe the dust from the furniture behind you as well. This young lady will be your helper. And you will teach her what she needs to know. You can see this as a promotion, really. You'll have less work as you'll have her to help you.”

“My name's Sam, ma’am, and I’d like to work for you.” Said Sam with a bow and new found hope in her eyes. “Good” was all Eleanor said before she left the room, Kevin right behind her.

“Good” Carla grinned at her, “then you can start right away. Follow me and I’ll show you what you have to do.” Carla went ahead, Sam right behind her. As far as Sam could realize, the house was pretty simple but with good taste and it was clean. She was sure that Carla did her job and maybe Eleanor was too strict. Anyway, it was an opportunity for her as otherwise she wouldn’t have had anywhere to go….

“Grab a piece of cloth, will you? And start dusting the furniture in the living room.” Said Carla but before Sam had the chance to ask her where she was supposed to take one from, Carla gave her a small piece of cloth from a pocket of her apron. Sam grabbed it and started dusting the table in the middle of the room.

“Ok, let me know when you've finished. And then we can go cook together. Can you cook, Sam!?” she asked doubting that the answer would be yes.

“Not really, ma'am. Only a few recipes. But I am willing to learn more.”

“Hmm, ok then, we'll see when you finish tidying the room”. Carla wasn't so upset with the whole situation anymore. Maybe she didn’t see Sam as a danger anymore and just saw her for what she was, a poor kid who had lost everything and needed some help to get back on her feet.

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One hour later Sam finished her task. When she was about to open the

door and look for Carla, Kevin opened it and saw her standing in front of the door, all sweaty and with the dirty cloth in her hands. Neither spoke when at last he entered the room and she exited past him. He closed the door behind her and she went to search for Carla. She needed a bath before she was going to help her cook. Or help her with anything, as a matter of fact. She was embarrassed because Kevin had seen her all sweaty like that, although if she thought about it, she shouldn’t have cared, right?

Carla was standing right in front of the door to the kitchen waiting for

her to finish her work when she saw her. She told her that now she could come and help her cook but Sam said that she needed a bath first if she was going to help her with anything.

“ A bath, are you kidding? You'll have a bath in the evening after you have finished all your work and not a minute sooner. Now get in here and start peeling the potatoes.”

Sam's first intention was to answer her back but then she decided to

just let her have her way this time. There was no point in quarrelling with Carla over such a small matter. So instead she took a seat by the table and started peeling potatoes just as Carla had told her. If she had looked at Carla she would have seen a quick smile on her face. Later that evening Sam was tired and just wanted to rest her weary head on the pillow. The family, namely Kevin and his mom, went to the kitchen to have dinner, followed by Carla. Sam helped her put the food on the table and then sneaked out to her room. 5 minutes later there was a soft knock on her door but Sam was already half asleep on the bed. She managed to say “yeah?” in a low voice and then Kevin entered her room with a food tray in his hands. Without saying anything he put it beside her bed on a small table and then he left. Sam ate in a hurry and fell asleep.

The following morning she took the tray to the kitchen to wash it.

Carla was already there washing the dishes and when she saw her she told her to put her tray there too as she was going to wash that too.

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Sam thanked her and hurried outside in the garden before Carla changed her mind. She needed to be alone for a bit, out in the sun. And the garden was the perfect place. She went to the farthest corner of the garden and sat on the tiny bench beneath an old oak tree. The sweet smell of flowers was overwhelming. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift away to other places and other times, happier times, times when she still had her mom… A tear rolled down her cheeks as the memory of her mother came to mind. But she knew her mom wasn’t coming back so she had to be strong and make the best of the situation she was in. She wiped her tears with her sleeve and opened her eyes.

She thought she saw someone behind a rose bush but by the time she

got there, there was no one there anymore. Or maybe there never was, she wasn’t sure. She decided to go help Carla in the kitchen. Sam went every day in the corner of the beautiful garden to relax and think of everything. It kind of became her spot.

As the days went by she was turning into a really beautiful young lady

and Eleanor, the mistress of the house, wasn’t blind to this or to the way her son Kevin was looking at her when she wasn’t aware. As for Sam, she wanted more from life than just working for Eleanor or Clara. She was sure that life meant more than cooking and cleaning for rich folk. She wanted to see the world not just the tiny town she lived in. She had no one to keep her there. She was all alone and she felt strong and brave enough to face the world.

One afternoon after she had finished her chores she decided to go

in the garden in her favorite spot and ponder about how she was going to bid farewell from this nice family. She thought that after a couple of years in their service she surely deserved more than just the food she got. She needed money if she was going to travel the world. And she deserved it as during this time she had never asked for anything else besides the food she got. But she had to leave, she had to make a change in her life. She didn't want to grow old serving Mrs. Eleanor and Clara. As for Kevin, he was nice but rather lonesome and not too

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talkative. She liked him. But she needed more.

She sat on the bench and stared at the clear blue sky. A few fluffy

clouds were forming in the distance. She wished everything was simpler, she wished she still had her mother. But she had no one. She tried to imagine how the dialogue would go between her and the mistress of the house. Would she even miss her? As for Clara, she wasn’t sure. But maybe Clara would also miss her as she did most of the work in the house. And Kevin…. Well, he surely wouldn’t miss her. He barely even noticed her, at least that is what she thought. He almost never spoke to her at all. Hmm, or to anyone, as a matter of fact. He was kind of weird, but not in a bad way, if being weird could be good in any way. She remembered one time when she slipped on the front steps with the bowl of boiling water in her hands as she was going in the yard to wash the laundry and as she was going to fall he caught her in his arms and he managed to push the bowl with a swift move. It fell a few paces away from her. She had been lucky or she would have been burnt by the hot water. He didn’t say a word then, he just bowed and went back inside the house. She didn’t even get a chance to thank him. But all that did not matter now.

As she was thinking of all these it started to grow late. And she

was still on the bench, thinking, pondering. Meanwhile the nice day had turned to an even nicer evening. The sun had set and a mesmerizing full silver moon was making its way from far away lands. A storm was slowly taking shape. Then the old oak behind her began to wave its branches in the wind. She got up from the bench and stared at the oak. It was as if it was whispering to her, calling her to come closer. As she looked at the old oak, it seemed bigger and scarier than before. Now the silver moon was just above her and the oak. And still the oak seemed to whisper something in the wind. But that couldn’t be, could it? Thought Sam wondering at the same time of her sanity. She decided to get closer. She put her right palm on the old bark and then she felt something very odd, as if electricity had crossed her whole body from her right hand up to her head and then down to her feet. A bluish light

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enveloped her and the last thing she remembered was a feeling of descent and despair, a fear beyond her imagination. Then all went black.